ITF Condemns ALCOA for “Ramshackle” Chartering

Posted by Ashleigh Telford on December 22, 2015

ITF Australia has today condemned ALCOA for the ramshackle way they are hiring ships to carry cargos on the Australian coast replacing Australian crew.

Following the controversial dumping of the Australian ship MV Portland, ALCOA have hired the cheapest ships available on single voyages to take Alumina from Western Australia to Victoria for processing.

Last month the Flag of Convenience “Strategic Alliance” was found to have bribed foreign government officials in at least 3 countries before being hired to take the first cargo for ALCOA under contentious Australian government licences.

Yesterday the Panamanian registered FOC “Greenery Sea” arrived in the WA port of Bunbury to take the second ALCOA cargo. Unfortunately for the HK owners “Parakou Shipping” this ship and her fleet are well known to the ITF and inspectors soon found that $65,000 of back wages for the full Chinese crew were still outstanding from 2014.

None of the paperwork on the ship added up and the master was unable to provide and confirmation that crew wages including home allotments had been paid for the past 3 months.

The ITF will also refer other concerns to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority about poor conditions on board such as low provisions, questions on overtime records and the spartan nature of the accommodation. If they are in breach of the Maritime Labour Convention then they must be detained regardless of who the charterer is.

“Clearly ALCOA has shirked their responsibility to check the human conditions of FOC coastal traders - not surprising while they are being used as an industrial wedge against Australian workers,” Mr Summers said.

The ITF will now mobilize inspectors around the world to check the rest of the fleet of 12 FOCs most of which have a history of wage complaints.